japanese government officials admit they withheld reliable data on the spread of radiation from fukushima daiichi. japanese leaders have faced more than a year of questions and criticism for how they responded to the accident at fukushima daiichi. new revelations about what happened in the hours and days after the march 11, 2011 disaster will likely fan the flames. nhk has learned government officials had data on the spread of radiation from the nuclear plant and they knew that data which was gathered by a system known as speedy was reliable. but they deliberatery withheld it to avoid sparking panic even though the media repeatedly asked for the information. nhk obtained a draft report from the science and technology ministry on what happened after the meltdowns at fukushima daiichi. the document says on march 15th, four days after the accident, ministry officials used speedy to identify high levels of radiation in namie, 20 kilometers northwest of the plant. the officials reported the findings to the prime minister's office that day. they also combined some of the speedy data with other radiatio

moreover, the accident at fukushima daiichi has not ended and investigations into it are not over. i want tepco officials to think of ways to keep a stable supply of electricity while securing safety. >> after the fukushima accident, public concerns about nuclear safety are increasing. whether tepco can get approval from local residents and people across the country is unclear. >> we just been explaining that the government is now the majority shareholder of tepco. the company set to implement a new business plan under a new management team. can the firm really rebuild itself? >> tepco has a massive amount of debt. its group net loss for the last business year stood about $6.2 billion. the firm hopes to reduce this mainly by increasing electricity charges this fiscal year. this april tepco raised power rates for its corporate clients by an average of 17%. it is now waiting for the government to approve its plan to increase rates for households as well by an average of over 10%. however, tepco faced protest about the rate hikes at public hearings. participants said the firm is not d

number of people in japan have become concerned about the dangers of nuclear power since the fukushima daiichi accident. >>> nuclear experts have struggled for more than a year to understand the exact cause of the meltdowns and explosions at the fukushima plant. they expect an investigation by the facility's operator would provide some answers. tokyo electric power company released the final report of its investigation earlier this month. investigators conducted interviews with 600 tepco employees, held on-site inspections and analyzed other data. tepco officials admit in the report they failed to prepare for a nuclear emergency and they defend themselves by pointing out the extreme difficulty of responding to the crisis. nhk world has been closely following the story since the accident at fukushima daiichi and has more details on tepco's report. the tepco investigation were expected to reveal the facts on what caused the accident. did the report clear things up? >> translator: my frank impression is that issues have yet to be clarified. that includes the path where the massive amount of nucle

number of people in japan have become concerned about the dangers of nuclear power since the fukushima daiichi accident. >>> nuclear experts have struggled for more than a year to understand the exact cause of the meltdowns and explosions at the fukushima plant. they expected an investigation by the facility's operator would provide some answers. tokyo electric power company released the final report of its investigation earlier this month. investigators conducted interviews with about 600 tepco employees, held on-site inspections and analyzed other data. tepco officials admit in the report that they failed to adequately prepare for a nuclear emergency. they also say the plan for the cooling system was inadequate but they defend themselves by pointing out the extreme difficulty of responding to the crisis. nhk world's hidehiro haneda has been closely following the story ever since the accident at fukushima daiichi and has more details on tepco's report. tepco's investigation were expected to reveal the facts on what caused the accident. did the report clear things up? >> translator: my frank i

the largest-ever solar project near the fukushima daiichi that it helped to build. the managing director signed a deal with the mayor. the city is just north of the plant. the deal means that toshiba will build power stations along the coast. construction of new houses is banned there, since last year's disaster, because the area is now a tsunami risk zone. the city plans to buy 1.5 million square meters of land and lease it to a venture set up by toshiba. construction will start in march, and the plants will begin operating in 2014. they'll provide up to 100 megawatts of electricity, enough to meet the demands of 30,000 homes. that makes it japan's largest solar-powered project. they want to end the dependence on nuclear power and eventually switch entirely to renewable energy. >> translator: the project will be a big step forward for our reconstruction. and it will serve as encouragement to residents. >> 15 months after last year's eahquakend tsunami, many people have yet to locate and identify the bodies of missing family members. to help people in miyagi prefect

the fukushima daiichi power plant was hit hard. containment structures were damaged, three nuclear reactors melted down, and radiation poured out into the environment. people's lives were uprooted by evacuations to avoid the threat of radiation poisoning. many of those men, women and children have yet to return to their homes and some may never get back. as i reflect on the fukushima disaster i think of communities in my home state of california. those communities are right close to two nuclear facilities, the santa onofri power station. almost 500,000 people live within 50 miles of diablo canyon. the thought of those families facing an unimaginable accident, even a fraction of what the people of japan faced during the fukushima disaster makes me even more vigilant about safety, when it comes to nuclear power. much more work needs to be done by the nrc in the aftermath of fukushima. as i review the activities of the nrc, i feel without the leadership of the current chairman, we would be even further behind on safety than we are. i

engineers helped build fukushima daiichi. executives have announced they'll develop japan's largest ever solar powered project nearby. the engineers will build several solar power station as long the coast. construction of new houses was bound after the disaster last year. the area was designated a tsunami risk zone. construction is scheduled to start next march. the plans are expected to begin operating in 2014. they'll provide up to 100 megawatts of electricity, enough to meet the demands of 30,000 homes. >> translator: the project will be a big step forward for our reconstruction. and it will serve as encouragement to residents. >> he wants to end their dependence on nuclear power and switch entirely to renewable energy. >>> city hall in paris is hosting around 300 graphs giving a glimpse of life after last year's disaster. the exhibition was planned by paris officials and a group of japanese residents. photographs show locations shortly after the disaster. they're displayed above shots of the same location taken months la

faced more than a year of questions and criticism for how they responded to the accident at fukushima daiichi. new revelations about what happened in the hours and days after the march 11, 2011 disaster, will likely fan the flames. nhk has learned government officials had data on the spread of radiation from the nuclear plant and they knew that day that which was gathered by a system known as speedy was reliable but they deliberately with leld it to avoid sparking panic even though the media repeatedly asked for the information. nhk obtained a draft report from the science and technology ministry on what happened after the meltdown at fukushima daiichi. the document says on march 15, four days after the accident, ministry officials used speedy to identify high levels of radiation in nanie, 20 kilometers northwest of the plant. officials reported findings to the prime minister's office that day. they also combined some of the speedy data with other radiation readings and released the information to the media but there were doubts about the accuracy of the results. the ministry finally decided

japanese are still worried about nuclear power generation after last year's accident at the fukushima daiichi plant. so on friday, prime minister yoshihiko noda tried to reassure the nation that nuclear power is safe and necessary. he said it is vital that the ohi nuclear power plant in western japan be restarted soon or the nation can expect power shortages. >> translator: it is my view that ohi nuclear power plant reactors 3 and 4 should be restarted to protect the lives of citizens. we seek the consent as we host municipalities after which due procedures will be taken. to secure prosperity and humane conditions for citizens, accessible and stable supply of energy is indispensable. nuclear power has supplied roughly 30% of all energy in japan. if the supply is halted and is not permitted to resume, the japanese economic society cannot be sustained. >> the prime minister spoke to the public as part of a deal with the governor of fuk prefecture. the speech was necessary to gain the governor's consent for the restart two of reactors at the ohi power plant. japan became free of nuclear power fo

reactors must pass new safety tests before they can go back online because of the accident at fukushima daiichi. >>> the next generation of nuclear engineers is in japan. they are taking part in a program run by the international atomic energy agency. the young professionals will learn about nuclear power and they'll also study the accident at the fukushima daiichi plant. the engineers have gathered in the village of tokai north of tokyo. the iaea program is aimed at producing capable managers in the field of atomic energy. many of those taking part in the nuclear management energy school are from asia and africa. the program will last three weeks. participants will look at the latest developments in nuclear power generation. they will be able to compare notes on the use of this energy source around the world. >> i want to understand about nuclear sector from starting point to the end point. why the world needs nuclear energy. >> participants will visit fukushima prefecture to learn about the accident at the daiichi plant. they'll also be able to see decontamination work firsthand. >>> rainy se

. >> translator: the government has worked to increase nuclear safety since the accident at fukushima daiichi. some safety standards are provisional and have not yet been legislated. restarting the reactors will require special monitoring. >> translator: such new arrangements must take effect immediately to reassure fukui residents. prime minister noda must assure the public that nuclear plants are important for the country's economy, not just for meeting short-term demand. this is needed to win public support. >> niche ka with an urged that noda directly seek public support for restarting the plant. last week, seven prefectures issued a statement on restarting the plant's number three and four reactors, urging the government to make an appropriate judgment and assume that any decision to restart the plant would be temporary. noda later met ministers responsible for nuclear power issues. he said they were winning some local consent. he said he'll take responsibility for making a decision if authorities in fuku i prefecture and town approve a restart. after meeting with nishakawa, he explained

. >> translator: the government has worked to increase nuclear safety since the accident at fukushima daiichi. some safety standards are provisional and have not yet been restarted. restarting the ohi reactors under the standards will require special monitoring. >> translator: such new arrangements must take effect immediately to reassure fukui residents. prime minister noda must assure the public that nuclear plants are important for the country's economy, not just for meeting short-term demand. this is needed to win public support. >> nishikawa urged noda directly receive public support for restarting the plant. last week seven prefectures in the kansai region issued a statement about restarting the number three and four reactors to make an appropriate judgment and assumed any decision to restart the plant would be de temporary. noda said they were winning some local consent. he said he'll take responsibility for making a decision if authorities in fukui prefecture and ohi town approve a restart. after meeting nishikawa, hosono explained to or theers the government's decision. >> translator

. >>> workers have entered the basements of two reactor buildings at the troubled fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. they are trying to find the source of water that's collected there. the crew was sent by tokyo electric, the plant's operator. they inspected the room's housing the suppression chambers of the number two and three reactors for the first time since the nuclear accident last year. the workers were unable to pinpoint the source of the leak. photos released after the inspection showed no signs of major damage to the facilities or equipment. tokyo electric says more than 5 meters of contaminated water have collected in each unit. that's more than half the height of the doughnut shaped suppression chambers which are about 9 meters in diameter. tokyo electric will continue to search for the source of the leak. damage to the reactor's containment vessels must be repaired before the reactor can be decommissioned. >>> japan has revised up its economic growth figure for the three months through march. the cabinet office announced on friday that the country's gross domestic product g

." >>> workers at japan's fukushima daiichi plant seem to come across new problems and new challenges every day at the damaged nuclear facility. their latest find? extremely high levels of radiation inside the building that houses reactor two. tokyo electric power company engineers sent a robot into the building wednesday to take video and measure radiation. tepco spokespersons say instruments detected a reading of 880 millisieverts per hour on the fifth floor. the area is 4.5 feeters above the reactor containment vessel. tepco analysts suspect radioactive substances that lead from reactor two moved through the location but the images and data taken by the robot haven't helped them find the exact route the contaminants traveled. spokespersons say teams have found no major damage on the fifth floor. experts believe reactor two released the largest amount of radiation during the accident at fukushima daiichi, but haven't determined how it escaped the containment vessel. tepco officials need to find and repair the damaged parts of the reactor, so they can recover melted numbering clear f

they lowered instruments into reactor number one at fukushima daiichi, they got readings that were extremely high. the crew from tokyo electric power company used an endo scope and ocimeters to check inside for the first time since the accident in march last year. they took a reading 20 centimeters above the surface of contaminated water. 10,300 any leesieverts per power, that would kill a person within a short time. they took a reading of 1,000 millisieverts per hour four meters above the water's surface, raising concerns about how they will decommission the reactor. tepco spokesperson said they may have found higher readings in reactor number one because more fuel rods may be melting there than in other reactors. people cannot enter the site so tepco will use robots to assess damage and for any demolition. >>> the nuclear accident in fukushima has led to major changes in disaster preparedness. more cities and towns are carrying out emergency rules. nhk world has watched the latest exercise, he noticed a new sense of urgentry. takao nabeshima. >> i'm on an island in nagasaki prefecture. aut

super cool biz began last year following the accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. this time a lack of energy drove the decision. and with electricity demand expected to skyrocket this summer, japanese are being asked to do their part and dress down. nhk world reports. >> reporter: people here in tokyo's largest business district are dressing a lot more casual these days than compared to ten years ago. that's because of the campaign spearheaded by the government. workers are shedding their jackets and ties, trying to stay comfortable so their offices can save on air conditioning. >> translator: i've seen people in southeast asia are working with no ties and no jackets. japanese have been too conservative until now. >> reporter: but now japan needs to conserve energy. its nuclear network is off line. engineers shut down the last of the country's 50 reactors at the beginning of may for inspection. government leaders ask the nation's seven utility companies to set summer power reduction targets between 5% and 15%. they are also urging businesses and homeowners to cut d

even now they can't go back do rongelap, the accident at the fukushima daiichi plant reminded people about the risks of radiation. shimada decided it was time to convey the lessons learned in the islands. he traveled around japan to show his photographs. he said u.s. government policies have devastated lives in the pacific island chain and urged people not to repeat the same mistakes in fukushima. >> translator: i think the most important thing is to listen to victims in various situations. and stay by their side. >> reporter: the message hit home for people from fukushima prefecture. >> translator: i feel people from fukushima and the islands have something in common. we're powerless at the national policy. >> translator: the effects of radioactive contamination should be researched and disclosed. the history of suffering along the marshall islanders provides lessons for us all. >> reporter: shimada hopes to promote exchanges between residents of the marshall islands and fukushima. he has devoted most of his life to help people affected by radiation. but his work is not yet finished

the government will review last year's decision to withhold reliable data on the accident at fukushima daiichi. hirofumi hirano wants to know why they're keeping maps under wraps. they were taken immediately after the fukushima accident and showed high levels of radiation in areas to the northwest of the facility. u.s. authorities sent the maps to japan on march 18th and 20th last year. but officials at the science ministry and japan's nuclear safety agency didn't make them public. hirano is defending how they haled the matter. he said their job was only to measure radiation levels on land. but he's urging the government to rethink its decision not to share the map information and put it to use. he also says government officials will continue to study whether making the maps public could have helped with evacuation efforts. >>> the south korean capital of seoul will impose energy-saving measures including steep fines to prevent power blackouts this summer. the measures will run from july 1st to september 21st. a penalty of up to $2,500 will be given to restaurants and stores that use air condi

the accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant reminded people about the risks of radiation. shimada decided it was time to convey the lessons learned in the marshall islands. he started to travel around japan to show his photographs. he said u.s. government policies have devastated life in the pacific island chain. he urged people not to repeat the same mistakes in fukushima. >> translator: i think the most important thing is to listen to victims in various situations. and stay by their side. >> reporter: the message hit home for people from fukushima prefecture. >> translator: i feel people from fukushima and the marshall islands have something in common. we are powerless and at the mercy of irrational national policy. >> translator: the effects of radioactive contamination should be researched and disclosed. the history of suffering among the marshall islanders provides lessons for us all. >> reporter: shimada hopes to promote exchanges between residents of the marshall islands and fukushima. he's devoted much of his life to help people aecte by radiation. but his work is

. >>> workers are looking for another way to find the source of leaks at fukushima daiichi. radioactive water has seeped out of a reactor at the nuclear plant. crews failed in their latest attempt to find the holes. official at tokyo electric power company say the workers used an infrared excamera to search for leaks. they hoped temperature differences between water and air would show up as different colors in the pictures. the photos reveal the temperature was 38 degrees celsius in the upper part of the chamber -- and about 35 degrees in the lower part. but the difference was not big enough to allow them to identify the leaks and the camera was unable to give them a more precise reading. the workers need to block the leaks so they can proceed with the process of decommissioning the plant. they say they'll try to come up with another method. >>> people in japan live on some of the most unstable land in the world. thousands of earthquakes shake it every year. those tremors can trigger devastating tsunami like the ones last year on march 11. since then, authorities have been t

government a map showing the spread of radiation soon after the nuclear accident occurred at fukushima daiichi. however, the japanese authorities did not release the data to the public. the u.s. energy department created the map using data collected by u.s. aircraft from march 17th to 19th last year. the map shows radiation spreading northwest from the accident site. the energy department provided the map to the japanese foreign ministry on march 18th and 20th. probably after that the ministry passed on the data to the science ministry on the nuclear and industrial safety agency. however, neither body released the information. they also did not notify the prime minister's office of the data. a senior science ministry official says it's not the u.s. government that should release the information. the added that the japanese government publicized the results of their own radiation surveys from data gathered at 180 locations. >>> a japanese media executive has been forced to resign in a scandal over plagiarism. the president says he's taking responsibility for the actions of his staff. he admitte

government a map showing the spread of radiation soon after the nuclear accident occurred at fukushima daiichi. however, the japanese authorities did not release the data to the public. the u.s. energy department created the map using data collected by u.s. aircraft from march 17th to 19th last year. it shows radiation spreading northwest from the accident site. energy department provided the map to the japanese foreign ministry on march 18th and 20th. after that the ministry passed on the data to the science ministry and the nuclear and industrial safety agency. however, neither body released the information. they also did not notify the prime minister's office of the data. a senior science ministry official says he thought the u.s. government should release the information. he added the japanese government publicized the results of its own radiation surveys from data gathered at 180 locations. >>> a japanese media executive has been forced to resign in a scandal over plagiarism. the gt press psident said he's taking responsibility for the actions of his staff. he admit that had a reporter at

the government will review last year's decision to withhold reliable data on the accident at fukushima daiichi. he is trying to figure out why maps provided by the united states were kept under wraps. they were based on aerial surveys taken immediately after the accident. they showed high levels of radiation in areas to the northwest of the facility. u.s. authorities sent the maps to japan on march 18th and 20th last year. but officials at the science ministry and japan's safety industry didn't make them public. they are defending how staff handled the matter. he says their job is only to measure radiation levels on hand. but he is urging the government to rethink its decision to not share the map information and put it to use. he also says government officials will continue study whether making the maps public would have helped evacuation efforts. >>> the tsunami that hit northeastern japan last year left more than 18 million tons of debris in its wake. disposing of the debris is showing to be a major and costly problem. they are hoping municipalities around the country will help with the cle

>>> admitting mistakes, the operator of japan's fukushima daiichi plants released its final report on last year's accident accepting blame but also pointing fingers. welcome to nhk world "newsline," executives at the tokyo electric power company have spent the last year analyzing what went wrong the day an earthquake and tsunami disabled one of their nuclear facilities. their final report offers a different view compared to other investigations, but it leaves some key questions unanswered. >> translator: as the company that caused the accident, we have a social obligation to carry out a thorough investigation. we must learn from the findings and make them public. >> tepco execs say the probe involved assessments and sper views with with about 600 staff. the report says the staff made everything they could to deal with unexpected events. they blamed staff for not properly operating the emergency cooling system. tepco's version of events is critical, but says government interference made matters worst and left to deal with the accident. it sites then prime minister as the example. he in

new chair say he's committed to reforming management and regaining public trust following the fukushima daiichi nuclear disaster which began in march of last year. shareholders and customers are hoping the talk is more than just spin. kazuhiko shimokobe spoke thursday in tokyo. he took on his new job as chair a day earlier at tepco's annual shareholders meeting. >> translator: tepco is a huge monopoly and has failed to pay attention to customers' needs and social trends. i will make sure tepco listens carefully to outside criticism of its corporate culture and that every tepco employee takes into account our customers' needs. >> tepco has been attacked not just for its handling of the fukushima disaster but also for unilaterally imposing price increases. shimokobe is a 64-year-old lawyer. he served as chairman of the government-backed nuclear-damaged liability facilitation fund that helped tepco compensate disaster victims. he added it will be very hard for tepco to restart reactors at its idle plant in kashiwazaki-kariwa, niigata prefecture without consent from the local community. >>> the new

managers set prices about 30% lower than before the meltdowns at the fukushima daiichi plant. >> translator: fishermen haven't been able to fish for 15 months. now that they can start fishing again, we want them to do their best, and we'll support them. >> members of a local fisheries association plan to ship the next catch to tokyo and other large cities if they get a good response. fishermen unloaded the first catch at the port of mutsukawa in soma. the municipality of soma and members of the fishing industry gathered at the wharf and ate samples. they also inspected a facility created to test marine products for radiation. the mayor says his city will let the whole nation know seafood from fukushima is safe. they received a lunch box with nine items, including octopus and shellfish that's now back on supermarket shelves. >>> people living in an area just north of tokyo are hoping to overcome the problems they face because of radioactive contamination. saitama prefect surfamous for its green tea but the fukushima fallout hurt sales. so a local assembly members launched a new public relati

new chair say he's committed to reforming management and regaining public trust following the fukushima daiichi nuclear disaster which began in march of last year. shareholders and customers are hoping the talk is more than just spin. shimokobe spoke thursday in tokyo. he took on his new job as chair a day earlier at tepco's annual shareholders meeting. >> translator: tepco is a huge monopoly and has failed to pay attention to customers' needs and social trends. i will make sure tepco listens carefully to outside criticism of its corporate culture and that every tepco employee takes into account our customers' needs. >> tepco has been attacked not just for its handling of the fukushima disaster but also for unilaterally imposing price increases. shimokobe is a 64-year-old lawyer. he served as chairman of the government-backed nuclear-damaged liability facilitation fund that helped tepco compensate disaster victims. he added it will be very hard for tepco to restart reactors at its idled plant in kashiwazaki-kariwa, niigata prefecture without consent from the local community. >>> the new tepco c

engineers at toshiba helped build fukushima daiichi. now executives have announced they'll develop the largest solar power project nearby. the managing director takota signed a deal with the mayor. the city is just north of the plant. engineers will build several solar power stations along the coast. the construction of new houses was banned last year. the area was designated a tunisia-risk zone. city officials plan to buy 1.5 square meters of land. the plants are expected to begin operating in 2014. they will provide up to 100 megawatts of electricity, enough to meet the demands of 30,000 homes. >> translator: the project will be a big step forward for our reconstruction. and it will serve as encouragement to residents. >> sakurai says he wants to end minamisoma's dependence on nuclear power and switch entirely to renewable energy. >>> vladimir putin returned to the russian president about a month ago. and he has wasted no time targeting critics of his rule. earlier this with me squashed legislati legislation. people who organize prote

some concerns were divorcvoiced the fukushima daiichi disaster but it attracted a lot of south koreans. >> translator: i often watch japan's beautiful scenery on tv. now i want to actually visit japan to see the places on the 3-d video. furano city is promoting its gorgeous natural scenery. the area was used recently as the setting for a popular south korean tv drama. >> translator: i want to promote japan's great tourist destinations and attractions at this expo. and i hope our efforts result in many south korean tourists coming to japan. >> the japan national tourism organization says it's planning to welcome over 9 million overseas visitors this year. >>> and we have news of a japanese electronics maker that is boosting production overseas. sharp will build a new plant in indonesia. this facility will more than double its output of refrigerators and washing machines in southeast asia's fast growing market. the groundbreaking ceremony was held outside the capital jakarta on thursday. sharp will invest $125 billion to integrate its existing plant in jakarta with the new plant. when co

he's committed to reforming management and regaining public trust following the fukushima daiichi nuclear issue that began last year. they hope the talk is more than just spin. shimokobo spoke in tokyo. he took on his new job as chair a day earlier at the annual shareholders meeting. >> tepco is a huge monopoly and has failed to pay attention to customers' needs and social trends. i will make sure tepco listens carefully to kritd simp of its outside culture and every tepco employee takes into account its customer's needs. >> tepco has been attacked not just for its handling of the fukushima disaster, but also for unilaterally imposing price increases. shimokobe is a 64-year-old lawyer. he served as chairman of the government-backed nuclear damage liability facilitation fund that helped tepco compensate disaster victims. he added it will be very hard for tepco to restart reactors at its idle plant in kashizaw kashizawa niigata prefecture without consent from the local economy. >>> barclas has been hit with the largest fine. must pay more than $450 million for manipulating key interest rate

japanese are still worried about nuclear power generation after last year's accident at the fukushima daiichi plant. so on friday, prime minister yoshihiko noda tried to reassure the nation that nuclear power is safe and necessary. he said it is vital that the ohi nuclear power plant in western japan be restarted soon or the nation can expect power shortages. >> translator: it is my view that ohi nuclear power plant reactors 3 and 4 should be restarted to protect the lives of citizens. we seek the consent as we host municipalities after which due procedures will be taken. to secure prosperity and humane conditions for citizens, accessible and stable supply of energy is indispensable. nuclear power has supplied roughly 30% of all energy in japan. if the supply is halted and is not permitted to resume, the japanese economic society cannot be sustained. >> noda gave his speech as part of a deal. the governor of fukui prefecture site of the ohi plant, demanded the prime minister address the public in order to get his consent. japan became a nuclear power free for first time in 42 years last month

oe said the accident last year at fukushima daiichi has shown people and nuclear plants cannot co-exist. >> translator: i believe the only way to preserve human life is to completely turn away from nuclear power. >> oe and his fellow campaigners plan to hold an anti-nuclear rally next month in tokyo. >>> when last year's massive earthquake hit east japan, many houses suffered great damage due to liquefaction. the softening of soil was especially serious in residential areas built on landfill. the city is now encouraging construction companies to come up with new approaches to make sure the land they build their houses on will not liquefy. >> reporter: recently urayasu city set aside some land as a testing site for nine companies to come up with affordable ways to prevent liquefaction. one large construction company has developed a method using logs. the eight-meter logs of cedar or japanese cypress are embedded into the ground vertically. this is how they work. liquefaction generally occurs in sandy soil that's become waterlogged. usually sand forms tight clumps, but when it's shaken, t

. >> translator: the government has worked to increase nuclear safety since the accident at fukushima daiichi. some safety standards are provisional and have not yet been legislated. restarting the ohi reactors under the standards will require special monitoring. >> translator: such new arrangements must you taketake immediately to reassure fukui residents. this is needed to win public support. >> nishikawa urged that noda seek public support for restarting the plant. last week, seven prefectures in the kansai region issued a statement on restarting the plants number three and four reactors. the prefectures urged the government to make an appropriate judgment on the assumption that any decision to restart the plant will be temporary. noda later met ministers responsible for nuclear power issues. he said they were winning some local consent. he said he'll take responsibility for making a decision if authorities in fukui prefecture and ohi town plan a restart. >> translator: fukui prefecture has accumulated knowledge. it is where experts discuss the issue. we're waiting for fukui's decision. >>

oha said the accident last year at fukushima daiichi has shown people and nuclear plants cannot co-exist. >> translator: i believe the only way to preserve human life is to completely turn away from nuclear power. >> oe and his fellow campaigners plan to hold an anti-nuclear rally next month in tokyo. >>> when last year's massive earthquake hit east japan, many houses suffered great damage due to liquefaction. the softening of soil was especially sneers residential areas built on landfill. the city is now encouraging construction companies to come up with new approaches to make sure the land they build their houses on will not liquefy. >> reporter: recently urayasu city set aside some land as a testing site for nine companies to come up with affordable ways to prevent liqefaction. one has come up with a way to create logs embedded into the ground vertically. this is how they work. liquefaction generally occurs in sandy soil that's become waterlogged. when it's shaken, the grains separate. pounding the logs into the ground increases the pressure on the surrounding soil. embedding many log

thousands of criminal complaints have been filed against company leaders who run the fukushima daiichieral dozen executives following the earthquake. complaint says leaders failed to prepare in an area known for natural disasters. >> also new we're learning it was a seizure that led to car crashes involving the secretary of commerce on saturday. this is according to the commerce department. police say john bryson slammed his car into a buick around 5:00 p.m. saturday, then hit the car again when he left the scene. a third crash took place five minutes later. paramedics found bryson unconscious before admitting him to the hospital. we got word that alcohol was not found in his system and he has been cited for a felony hit and run. >> two american students walked out of a new zealand forest. >> they survived rationing trail mix and warming themselves in hot springs. both are students at the university of wisconsin studying abroad. they planned to hike and camp for a few days but heavy rains and snow prevented them from being able to cross a river and return. >> they are lucky to have sur

they've been forced to import octopus from other regions since that big-time accident, at the fukushima daiichilear power plant in march of last year. >>> 6:48. funeral plans are pending this morning for one of the country's most beloved authors and screen writers. nora ephron died after battling cancer, she wrote and directed sleepless in seattle and when harry met sally and she lost her battle with leukemia yesterday. she was 71 years old. quite a talent. >> some of the most quoted movies in history. i'm have what she's having. >> exactly. >> right now we'll take a full serving the nice weather out there. >> it will be beautiful throughout today. one of those days you want to embrace as things change through next week. we've been showing you crystal clear live shots. we want to thank mark and toz for getting us amazing shots this morning. this is what's happening right now. taking a live look at san francisco where it was nice and clear. that marine layer starting to penetrate the city a little bit. that will keep you cool today. that will keep your temperatures close to 70 degrees. just perf

are worried about the possible threat to their livelihood after last year's accident at the fukushima dai h daiichi nuclear power plant. >> translator: i've realized how dangerous the nuclear plant can be. it's just not acceptable for them to push it on us without offering a fair explanation. >> reporter: people who make the living from fishing are banding together. fisherman's unions in nagasaki unanimously adopted a resolution thursday opposing the restart of the genkai plant. the unions are the first to pass a revolution of this kind. >> translator: if a nuclear accident likeukhihihihihihihihii we're absolutely determined to confront the government on the issue of restarts. >> fishermen say they will remain opposed to the start and the central government and until the utility can provide convincing safety guarantees. takao nebeshima, nhk world. >>> shareholders suing tokyo electric power company had their first day in court. they accused utility executives of being responsible for the fukushima disaster by ignoring warnings about earthquakes and tsunami. the 42 shareholders are suing 27 former a

tokyo power plant officials said they were not prepared when a tsunami crippled the fukushima daiichie operators were poorly trained. >>> and a opposition leader who could not leave her home for 20 years has finally received her honorary doctorate from oxford. aung sun suu kyi is finally getting her degree today. she was awarded the degree years ago but she could not leave her country to get it. she picked up the nobel peace prize she won over the weekend she won in 1991. good for her. >>> and so they wear nike sneakers and listen to american music and so what are these kids doing in mexico? [ banker ] but someone else bought it before they could get their offer together. we really missed a great opportunity -- dodged a bullet there. [ banker ] so we talked to them about the wells fargo priority buyer preapproval. it lets people know that you are a serious buyer because you've been credit-approved. we got everything in order so that we can move on the next place we found. which was clear on the other side of town. [ male announcer ] wells fargo. with you when you're ready to move. [ m